Animal Attraction
by fyd818
Summary: It all started - and ended - with the cat. :Sasuke x Hinata:


Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_, nor any places, things, characters, or ideas therein. The aforementioned belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Shounen Jump, TV Tokyo, and Viz Media, not me. I am writing this fic for entertainment purposes only, not monetary gain.

Summary: It all started - and ended - with the cat. :Sasuke x Hinata:

Rating: K+

Warnings: Some arguing

Pairing(s): Sasuke/Hinata, mentions NejiTenten

Spoilers: None (AU)

Author's Note: This is my half of the collab over at SasuxHina-FanClub and SasuxHina-Fanfic-FC over on dA. I got to work with the lovely BloodKnighttt, who did the art portion of the collab (and did a fantastic job, too!). To see her art, just pop over to dA and find _Animal Attraction_ there (I'm decatbastet on dA), and there's a link to the art there). I had a great deal of fun writing this, and I'm sooo excited to share this all with you! And just for the record, I have nothing against cats (except for the fact I'm allergic). I know canonically, Sasuke's family worked a lot with Nekobaa and all her kitties, but for some reason, Sasuke just naturally strikes me as more of a dog person. Thanks for reading!

* * *

***~Animal Attraction~***

_.:fyd818:._

* * *

It all started - and ended - with a kitten.

Uchiha Sasuke felt all the tensions of the week ease out of his shoulders at the sight of his fiancée's smiling face when she opened the door of her apartment promptly at six o'clock. Friday nights were so much better since Hyuuga Hinata came into his life, he mused as he stepped through the doorway and greeted her with a kiss.

Hinata smiled up at him, face and eyes aglow as she waited for him to take off his shoes before leading him toward the kitchen. "You're going to _love_ what I fixed for us tonight," she said, her soft voice bright with excitement. "Everything - except dessert, of course - has tomatoes in it."

Sasuke leaned against the counter as Hinata hurried to the stove, taking the lid off a skillet and releasing an aromatic cloud of steam which wafted in his direction. He sniffed a little curiously - and yes, there was the familiar sharp tang of tomatoes. "It _smells_ good." Though he'd only seen Hinata a few hours ago, he couldn't help studying her now so he could rememorize her. His memories of her were sometimes the only things which kept him sane at work.

She looked at him over her shoulder, her long braid of midnight dark hair swishing across her shoulders with the movement. He longed to wrap its silky length around his hand, gently to pull free the band securing it and let the waterfall of her tresses cascade across his skin. Her hair had been one of the first things he noticed about Hinata; he'd been fascinated and enamored by it - and her - ever since. "Good," she said, drawing his attention away from her hair and back to the food. "It'll be ready in just a few more minutes."

While she went about stirring whatever was in the skillet, Sasuke made his way around the kitchen - almost as familiar as his own - gathering up plates, bowls, glasses, and chopsticks. He listened to Hinata's sweet humming as he set the table, allowing the soothing sound to work its way deep to his core to release the last of the stresses still lingering from the day - and the week in general.

To the background noise of spring rain pattering against the window across the kitchen, Sasuke set down the last pair of chopsticks and went to the stove. Wrapping his arms around Hinata's slender waist, he rested his chin on her shoulder and sighed in contentment. Oh, how nice it would be when, in just three short months, he could do this _every day_, when his name would be hers, and they could officially start their lives together.

"How was your day?" he asked, pulling her a little more snugly against his chest. The fit was perfect, as was the way her curves nestled against him like they were two halves of the same whole. Turning his face into her neck, he inhaled the scent of her - sweetly, delicately floral - and pressed a kiss to the pulse point just under her ear.

"Wonderful!" Hinata lit up at his question, the same way she always did whenever he asked it. Her stirring became vigorous as she launched into a description. "They're all such little angels. Kyoko-chan is going to skip the next grade, I think; she instantly picks up on everything I teach. I'm going to miss her. Senri-kun and Rima-chan got into a fight - again." She giggled softly, the feathers of her long earrings brushing against his cheek as she shook her head. "Give them around twenty more years, and I'll bet you my next paycheck they'll wind up married to each other."

Sasuke felt his ears prick at the word "fight," everything else flowing past him. "What kind of fight?" he asked sharply.

Hinata firmly tugged at his arms with her free hand until he reluctantly let go of her and stepped back. As soon as he did, she poured the contents of the skillet into a bowl resting on the counter next to the stove. "They were shouting at each other, and I'm just thankful we weren't using paints like the last time they fought. What a mess! Fortunately this time all they did was throw around a bunch of cotton and break a few crayons." She slipped past him to the sink, where she put the skillet to soak while they ate.

"You know," Sasuke said, carrying the bowl to the table while Hinata pulled something else out of the oven, "if you don't curb their fighting tendencies _now_, they're going to keep getting into more and more fights the older they get."

"They're _first graders_," Hinata said, setting the steaming dish in her hands on a large coaster in the center of the table. "Still little children, basically learning socialization skills. It doesn't help that they're both onlies, and used to having their ways. I keep an eye on them, so they never get too violent or destructive."

"Wait until they reach sixth grade," Sasuke predicted darkly. "You might be surprised how fast their cuteness fades and their restless energy gets channeled into destructive means."

Hinata frowned at him over her shoulder as she dished up the rice. "It can't be _that_ bad."

If it weren't for the fact switching classes with Hinata for a day would put him in a room with thirty-eight hyper-active little kids, Sasuke would suggest it just so she could see what he meant. By the time he got hold of those kids, too many years of Hinata's attitude toward teaching would have turned them into half-grown brats who thought they could get away with murder. It was one of the very few things he _didn't_ like about his fiancée. "Hn," he merely said, not wanting to get into a fight right before dinner, since she'd obviously put a lot of thought and work into it.

Not that they really ever _fought_. Hinata was too timid for that. She hardly ever argued or contradicted him, more likely to back down instead of stand up for her point of view. Sometimes he honestly thought she was far too easy to get along with.

Just once, Sasuke wished she'd get genuinely angry. That she'd scream and throw things and insist _she_ was right, even if she wasn't.

They settled down at the table across from each other. Just as Sasuke reached for the serving spoon sticking out of whatever had come from the skillet, Hinata said, "Oh!" and bounced back to her feet.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke shifted to stand up, too; but she motioned for him to stay seated as she pulled a saucer out of a cabinet and headed for her fridge.

"It's okay," she said. Pulling out the carton of milk, she poured a little into the saucer before replacing the dairy container in the refrigerator. Leaning down, she set the freshly-poured saucer of milk on the floor and flipped her braid back over her shoulder as she called, voice high and sweet, "Here, kitty! Come get your milk!"

Before Sasuke could even register Hinata's words, a blur of black and white shot into the kitchen, tumbling to a furry halt over the woman's feet. Hinata laughed and knelt next to the fuzzy little kitten, helping it back to its feet before nudging it toward the milk. "There you go," she said, sounding pleased.

Then, after quickly washing her hands, she came back to the table and sat down across from Sasuke as if a kitten weren't crouched just a few feet away, happily lapping up its milk.

"What - is - _that_?" Surely this was some sort of dream, he thought. A nightmare. _Something_ other than reality. He would even accept the fact he'd accidentally stumbled into some sort of ninja trap and wound up in an alternate reality, rather than accept the fact Hinata had a _cat_!

Hinata looked up at him, chopsticks arrested halfway between her plate and mouth, rice poised perfectly on their ends. "A kitten," she said, looking and sounding confused. "I'm thinking about calling her Maneki, if I can't locate her owner. I'm just calling her Neko for now. What do you think?" She tilted her head endearingly, her lavender eyes wide and innocent.

Sasuke carefully set down his chopsticks and glanced at the little monster out of the corner of his eye. It had turned away from its milk to stare at him, the pupils of its narrow green cat eyes gleaming darkly, little claws very visible, and lips drawn back from its sharp baby teeth. "It's a _cat_! Those things are evil!"

Eyes now clouded with confusion, Hinata looked from him to the spawn of evil, who made a little purring sound as it pranced toward her. "It's just a kitten," she said softly. "I found it when I got off the bus this afternoon. It was raining so hard, and she was just huddled there under the bench, so wet and miserable and alone. I couldn't leave her to starve, or die of pneumonia, or get hit by a bus!" She picked it up and cuddled it to her chest, right there at the table with him, stroking its fur and nuzzling its head as if it were a puppy.

Better if it had been. "It's a kitten _now_," Sasuke said slowly, halfway expecting one of those little paws to lash out and scratch Hinata's eyes out. He kept a wary eye on it, just in case. "But that thing is going to grow into a cat eventually. Which brings me back around to my original point: cats are _evil_!"

"Neko wouldn't hurt a mouse!" Hinata protested, still stroking the cat. Which glared at him out of one malevolent green eye, proving his point. It might have fooled her, but Sasuke refused to fall for its cute act.

"Need I remind you mice are typically a large part of a cat's diet?" At Hinata's frown, Sasuke sighed. "I can't believe you actually like the little monster."

"She's not a monster. She was alone and wet, and I didn't want her to get sick or die. What's wrong with bringing her home and taking care of her until I find her owner?" Hinata set the thing down and nudged it back in the direction of the milk bowl.

It lapped happily at the rest of the dairy, undoubtedly wanting to fuel up so it'd have the energy to kill Hinata in her sleep tonight. "And if you don't? Are you going to keep it?"

"Yes, I probably will keep _her_." Hinata picked up her chopsticks again and took a bite of her rice, looking unconcerned. "She's so sweet, how can you resist her?"

_Easily_. "You fall for its act. You fall for the kids' acts. This is your problem, Hinata!" He resisted the urge to throw up his hands in frustration.

Sasuke saw Hinata's shoulders hunch a little bit, just like they always did whenever a disagreement was brewing. "Maybe your problem is you're too stern and not trusting enough," she said softly. She stared at him from beneath her bangs, her lavender eyes once again wide and innocent.

_Too_ wide and innocent and, yes, trusting. Didn't she know the world would pick up someone like her, chew her up, spit her out, and leave her lost and broken and alone? "And _your_ problem," he returned from between his teeth, "is that you're not aggressive enough! Stand up for yourself for once, Hinata! Let your students know you won't tolerate fighting. Tell your father you'd rather live in that condo across town, closer to the school so you can walk to work every day rather than having to ride the bus, instead of this little flat closer to where he lives!"

Sasuke was really building up steam now. He'd wanted to say these things to Hinata for a long time, but had never been sure how. She was so timid and delicate. Though that was one of the things which had drawn him to her at first, it also set his teeth on edge at times. He preferred to have things out in the open, to face a challenge head-on rather than back away. He'd been hoping some of his aggressive, self-confident personality would rub off on her as they dated.

But obviously, that was a lost cause. He saw her fold a little more into herself as he added, "And, for the sake of all your ancestors _and_ mine, find an owner for that little demon and get rid of it before we get married, because I am _not_ living under the same roof as a _cat_!"

For a long moment Hinata quailed, and Sasuke thought she'd cry. But then a kind of hard determination sparked to life in her eyes. Her head lifted, her shoulders went back, and she looked him dead in the eye: things she'd _never_ done before during their disagreements. "You want me to be more assertive?" she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes!" Sasuke nodded, relieved. At last, she was going to listen to him, put everything back to rights, and they could go back to life as usual. Except better, now that she seemed to be growing a hint of a backbone.

"Fine!" The word nearly screeched out of her. Sasuke watched in shock as she got to her feet and towered over him. "You want me to be more assertive, I'll be more assertive!" Her right hand went to her left. In one swift movement she wrenched her pearl and diamond engagement ring - a one of a kind he'd had designed and crafted just for her - off her finger. Without even looking at it, she threw it at him. It bounced off his chest, and Sasuke was so surprised he nearly didn't catch it before it fell into his rice bowl.

"Here's assertive for you: Our engagement is off. The wedding is not happening. And-" At this, she marched across the room and swooped the kitten up into her arms, hugging it to her bosom as if Sasuke were brandishing a knife and threatening to skin it alive or something "-you can get out of my flat and my life. But the kitten _stays_!" She thrust her index finger in the direction of her front door and punctuated her speech with one final word: "_Forever_!"

* * *

The weekend was nothing short of miserable.

Hinata had expected to revel in her newfound assertiveness as she played with Neko and enjoyed her days off. But it didn't happen that way. Even Tenten, her cousin Neji's cheerful fiancée, couldn't bring the depressed teacher out of her slump.

"You're better off without him, anyway," Neji said firmly over lunch Sunday afternoon. "He's always had an attitude."

Those words lingered in Hinata's mind as she disembarked the bus at her stop on Monday morning. As she made her way toward the school, she found herself scanning the area out front for a familiar head of spiky dark hair. But even though the grounds were full of students and faculty alike, she couldn't spot Sasuke.

Unlike usual, Hinata couldn't bring herself to smile at the little leaf emblem over the doors into the school. Spring was her favorite season, with everything beginning to bloom and come back to life after the cold, dreary stretch of winter. The school's emblem was one of the things which had drawn her to Konoha Academy, especially since it was halfway across Tokyo from her flat.

She was halfway down the hall toward her classroom when the students started pouring into the building behind her. As the noise level went from peacefully quiet to chaotically loud, Hinata ducked her head and scurried along a little faster. She'd wakened to a dull throb behind her eyes, a stress headache which would undoubtedly turn into a full-blown migraine by the end of the day.

But Sasuke thought she was weak. A quitter. So she would make it through this school day if it killed her, impending migraine or no impending migraine!

Setting her things down on her desk, Hinata went to work organizing what she needed for her class. As the students began to trickle in, she booted up her computer and turned on the projector, going over the slides one more time to make sure everything was in order.

A quick movement in the doorway brought her head up. Sasuke stood there, his blue-black hair shining like raven's wings in the glare of the overheads, his equally dark eyes fixed on her face. Watching her, waiting for... Something.

Part of her longed to hurry across the room, grab him by the lapels of his suit, and _beg_ him to take her back. But _no_! She refused to back down now, not when he'd made it so clear Friday night how he felt about her. And the kitten.

She met his gaze coldly for a long moment, then spun away and hit the button on the remote in her hand to lower the projector's screen. As it whirred down, she felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle as he continued to stare at her; but after a few moments, the sensation vanished. When she looked at the doorway again, he was gone, leaving the way open for the majority of her students to come pouring into the room, talking and giggling among themselves.

Hinata forced a cheerful note into her voice as she started the class. Despite the throbbing in her heart keeping time with the pounding in her head, she made sure she was always smiling as she made her way through the day.

One of the longest days in her entire life.

* * *

_She hates me._

The cold look in Hinata's eyes lingered at the forefront of Sasuke's mind as he taught. The weekend had been terrible, with the memory of their fight lashing away at him at all hours of the day and night. He'd had a rotten night's sleep Friday night, Saturday night, _and_ Sunday night. Even though Naruto had dragged him out of his flat for a day out with the guys on Saturday, absolutely nothing could erase the memory of Hinata throwing her engagement ring at him and calling off _everything_.

Everything, that is, except for the stupid cat.

As if sensing his distracted mood, his students heckled him even more than usual. By the time the school day dragged to its end, Sasuke felt like his few remaining frayed nerves had completely snapped, leaving him even more surly and ill-tempered than usual. The little box in his pants pocket, which held Hinata's ring, burned through the fabric into his skin, reminding him of his failure. His shame.

Dismissing the hooligans - good riddance! - Sasuke gathered up his things and headed for the door himself. Ordinarily he lingered in the classroom for a while after class ended, just in case one of his few good students with a brain in their head had a question for him. But today, he didn't want to deal with anyone - at least, not anyone under five feet tall.

Just his luck, Hinata was coming out of her classroom at the moment Sasuke rounded the corner. He stopped, his dark gaze catching her pale one. He felt drawn to her as strongly as if they were two magnets firmly within each's other's field of attraction. She _had_ to feel it, too, he thought, an unaccustomed uncertainty coiling uneasily through his gut.

She was so beautiful. Even more so than before, now, with that determined, angry gleam in her eyes. As she glared at him, her ringless left hand propped on her shapely hip, Sasuke felt the yearning in his chest ratchet up to full-blown longing. He moistened his lips, which were on the verge of shaping her name-

And then she spun around, long midnight-dark ponytail flying out behind her, and stalked away from him down the hall.

Leaving him standing there by himself, feeling heartbroken and utterly alone.

* * *

Tuesday was no better than Monday.

Wednesday was even worse.

By Thursday, Hinata felt ready to scream. It seemed like _everywhere_ she went, Sasuke lay in wait for her. She even went so far as to eat her lunch in her empty classroom; but the second she went out to use the ladies' necessary quickly before her students came back, there he was, lingering at the corner of the hallway, looking like a hungry vampire as he stared at her.

Deciding she'd much rather hold it for the rest of the day, Hinata hurried back into the sanctuary of her classroom. Surely he wouldn't pass the threshold if she didn't invite him in, right?

But it wasn't just at school where she couldn't escape him. When she swung by the grocery store after school on Thursday to pick up some fresh vegetables and some chicken for her dinner, he was there, standing next to the tomatoes. Although she was sure she hadn't made a sound, his head came up and around, his black, black eyes keying in on her like a hawk's locking onto its prey.

She decided to have ramen - which she already had in her flat - instead. Abandoning her shopping basket, she left the store without purchasing anything.

Most embarrassing was the incident on the bus on her way home. Seeing a head of dark, spiky hair a few seats ahead of her, she marched up to its owner to demand Sasuke _stop following her and leave her alone! _Halfway through her tirade Hinata realized the head of hair belonged not to Sasuke, but a very bemused-looking teenage boy who looked nothing like him save for the color and style of his hair. She slunk back to her seat and wished she could die of embarrassment right then and there.

Not even Neko's happy purrs of greeting cheered Hinata when she finally got home. Picking up the little kitten, she cuddled it to her chest and rubbed her face against its soft fur, hot tears trickling down her cheeks.

Even though she was still absolutely furious at Sasuke for everything he'd said to her last Friday, she missed him. Her head ached, her chest ached, and the loneliness welling up into her throat nearly choked her. Setting down Neko, she went into her bedroom, where she changed into a comfortable pair of lounge pants and a sleeveless shirt before pulling one of Sasuke's long-sleeved tees over her head. He'd loaned it to her one time when they took the long drive out to the beach with some friends, and the breeze off the ocean had been too cool for her. She'd kept meaning to give it back; but it was so comfortable, she just kept it. It was like having his arms around her, warm and protecting, even when he wasn't there.

She'd just set a pot of water on the stove to boil when the phone rang. Her heart bounced from her chest to her throat. She dove for the handset, wondering if it was Sasuke.

"Hello?" she said breathlessly.

"Hi," a chipper female voice said on the other end of the line. "Is this Hyuuga Hinata?"

Hinata swallowed hard. Not Sasuke, then. "Yes," she said cautiously.

"Oh, good. My name's Yamanaka Ino. I saw the fliers you put out about a lost kitten. That's my little Daisy." Ino sounded so relieved, so happy.

But Hinata felt her heart fall from her throat to her feet, where it smashed into a thousand little pieces.

Not only had she lost her fiancé, she was losing her kitten, too.

* * *

The expression of heartbreaking depression on Hinata's face irresistably drew Sasuke to her Friday afternoon after school. "Hinata?" he spoke her name quietly, the first time he'd been this close to her in a week, even though half the width of her classroom still separated them.

She looked up at him from where she'd been locking up her desk, a flicker of defiance quickly dying in her pale eyes, which as swiftly filled with tears. "She's gone," she whispered.

Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat. He knew the two most important females in Hinata's life were Hanabi, her younger sister, and Tenten, her cousin's fiancée. Had something happened to one of them? "Who?" he asked anxiously. He longed to cross the distance between them, to wrap his arms around her and pull her against his chest, bow his head over hers and protect her from all the hurt in the world.

He thought on some distant level he should be angry, hurt, frustrated. But he wasn't. He couldn't be.

"Neko." Hinata angrily wiped at her face, dashing away her tears. "Or, I supose I should say, Daisy. Her owner called me last night - had seen the fliers I posted and came by to pick her up. She's gone."

Even though Sasuke longed to say "Good riddance!" he held the words back. "I'm sorry."

Anger sparked back to life when Hinata lifted her head to glare at him. "No, you're not," she said. "You hated her. You're probably happy she's gone!"

"Not at the expense of your happiness, Hinata." His hand closed around the box in his pocket, mind's eye seeing so clearly the ring inside. He'd screwed up worse than badly, but this was his chance to fix it. "I know how much you liked that little d- ah, kitten. I _am_ sorry the owner showed up." He took a couple of steps into the room and lifted his hand toward her, wanting, _needing_, to touch her hair, her face, her hand.

But she backed away and shook her head. In her lavender-tinged eyes he clearly saw the depth of the hurt he'd inflicted on her. "No," she whispered. "This doesn't change a thing, Uchiha-san. Goodbye." Dodging around him in the narrow space he'd created, she ran away, down the hall, through the doors, and out of his life.

Sasuke pulled his hand, still clutching the ring box, out of his pocket and lifted it to his mouth. He stared after her, wishing he could turn back the clock and unsay all the things he'd said to her. Despite the facets of her personality which drove him crazy, he still loved her. In fact, it was some of those same traits which had attracted him in the first place.

The first time he'd ever seen her, she'd been kneeling next to a crying little girl in front of the first grade classroom. Her long dark hair hung in a shimmering waterfall down her back and over her shoulders, her wide pale eyes filled with concern and a kind of motherly sadness as she studied the scraped elbow of the student in front of her. Within a few seconds, the girl's tears had turned to smiles, and Hinata's breathtakingly beautiful smile had socked Sasuke in the gut.

His heart had been hers from that moment. When he'd introduced himself to her after classes that day, and the smile repeated itself, he knew he'd just met the woman he was going to marry.

Even despite the strife in their relationship, he still felt every bit as strongly about her now as he did then.

Even more so.

Sasuke thrust the ring box back into his pocket and ran down the empty hall toward the doors out of the school.

He was going to _fix this_. Didn't matter what it took, he was going to fix it. He _would_ get Hinata back, because whether he wanted to admit it or not, life was just too miserable without her.

* * *

Hinata was drowning her sorrows in a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a showing of her favorite animated movie about a wizard, a girl, and a castle when a frantic knock on the front door interrupted her.

For a long moment, she ignored it. Settling herself even more comfortably against the cushion under her, she stuck a fresh spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and glued her gaze to the television, trying to ignore the even louder knock battering at her front door.

At last, she couldn't take it any more. Sighing loudly, she paused the movie, set down her ice cream, and dragged herself to the door. "It's probably just some stupid salesman," she grumbled to herself. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." Securing the doorknob, she opened the door as far as the chain lock would allow.

A pair of big, soulful brown eyes stared into hers, set into a furry black face. A shiny, wet little black nose twitched less than a hand's width away from her face.

"Agh!" Hinata jerked back in surprise as a long pink tongue swiped out towards her face and missed.

Another pair of eyes appeared above the brown ones, these black as the depths of a moonless night but no less soulful. "Peace offering?"

Hinata leaned back toward the crack between the door and the frame, widening her focus. Sasuke stood there with his hair dripping into his face from the rain, his coat equally soaked. But in his hands he held a perfectly dry puppy, whose sweet black face and vigorously wagging tail instantly melted her heart.

"Did you find it abandoned?" Hinata asked. It being a dog, she wondered why he didn't just keep it himself.

"No." Sasuke still held the pup out toward her, his face shining with hope, dark eyes filled with sadness and love. "I rescued him earlier this afternoon from a shelter. His name is Tasuku - and he's for you. I thought about getting you another kitten, but then I thought maybe it'd be too painful, since you just lost Neko. And then I saw this little guy, and..." He trailed off awkwardly, watching her with those hopeful, hurting eyes.

She wavered. Neko - Daisy - hadn't been gone that long. Though she hadn't been Hinata's for long, the wound of her leaving was still very fresh and very raw. Seeing this little puppy, all lolling tongue and wagging tail and big brown eyes, made the pain fade just a bit.

Truthfully, she wanted that puppy. With everything in her, she wanted that puppy.

"What's the catch?" Hinata asked suspiciously. Sasuke had to have some ulterior motive. Any second now she expected him to ask her again to marry him, confidently expecting her to acquiesce, just as though nothing had ever happened-

"No catch." Sasuke pulled the puppy back to his chest, cradling it against him under his coat, and she realized that must be how he kept it dry. "It's just - this is my way of apologizing. I _am_ sorry for what I said. I never meant to hurt you."

The truth shone right there in his eyes for the whole world to see. She knew, oh, how well she knew! Sasuke was strong, private, more apt to suffer in silence than admit to any sort of pain - physical, mental, or emotional. The fact he stood at her front door, holding out a puppy, _apologizing_, as much as admitting he'd been in the wrong, spoke volumes.

"Truthfully-" Sasuke hesitated, glancing down at Tasuku before looking up at her again. "As long as you're happy, that's fine. I _do_ want you back - I've missed you so desperately this past week. I've been miserable. I love you, Hinata. But ultimately, I want _you_ to be happy. I want you to do what you want to do, be with who you want to be. And if - if that's not me, then..." He drew in a deep breath and held out the puppy again, holding her gaze steadily. "Then I'll have to learn to live with it. But I _really_ want it to be with me, Hinata. I really, truly do."

Hinata closed the door. She heard the puppy yelp, and Sasuke groan. But she undid the chain and opened the door again, all the way this time, and reached out for the puppy. "I'll accept him."

Sasuke's dark eyes brightened slightly as he very carefully shifted Tasuku from his hold to Hinata's. She cradled the warm, furry body against her chest, smiling as the soft pink tongue swiped repeatedly at her neck, her chin, her jaw, whatever part of her the pup could reach.

"You look good together." Sasuke sounded almost wistful.

She glanced over her shoulder back toward the sitting room, where her television was paused and her ice cream was melting. Looking back up at Sasuke, she said hesitantly, "Would you like to come in? I'm watching a movie, but it's my favorite, so I can start it over again." It was a peace offering of her own.

Hinata wasn't ready to get engaged again, to put the wedding back on track. She and Sasuke had a lot to talk about and think about before they went that far again.

But as Sasuke picked up the bag of doggy necessities from where it'd been sitting next to his feet, closed the door behind him, and slid off his shoes, Hinata knew eventually they'd be okay. Despite their differences and disagreements, they were somehow meant for each other.

Eventually, they'd find the perfect balance. And between that and their love, they would be just fine.

***~The End~***

_**Author's Ending Notes:**_ As I said above, I have absolutely nothing against cats, except the fact I'm allergic. Sasuke's just always seemed like a dog person to me, even though his clan worked with Nekobaa and her ninja cats often in canon. I had a great deal of fun writing this fic - it was interesting exploring Sasuke's and Hinata's personalities and what makes them great as a couple. I hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


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